In the not-so-distant future, same-sex couples may be able to have children that are biologically related to both of them. A recent article in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences outlines a new process known as in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, through which scientists use stem cells—taken from embryos or adults—to create gametes, the technical name for eggs and sperm, regardless of gender. Scientists have already had partial success with IVG on mice, and were able to create offspring that came from a mixture of one gamete created through this new process and one created naturally.
Author: ASRM News and Research
Teen Birth Rate, Multiple Births Reach Historic Low
The number of women who gave birth to triplets, quadruplets or larger sets of babies declined again in 2014, showing a 40 percent decrease since their peak in 1998, according to data released Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number indicates a decline in high-risk pregnancies associated with fertility treatments, though the number of twins born in 2014 increased slightly. The data also show that births to teenage mothers hit yet another historic low, down 52 percent from 1991, and the number of births by cesarean section declined as well.
With In Vitro Fertilization, Persistence Pays Off, Study Suggests
In their quest to become parents, most infertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization must grapple with a tough decision: when to call it quits. After three or four unsuccessful embryo transfers, doctors have long assumed that the chances of eventually bringing home a child were dismal.
Long-term Outcomes of Preventing Premature Menopause During Chemotherapy
Compared with receiving chemotherapy alone, women with breast cancer who also received the hormonal drug triptorelin to achieve ovarian suppression had a higher long-term probability of ovarian function recovery, without a statistically significant difference in pregnancy rate or disease-free survival, according to a study in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA.
Canada Just Took A Huge Step For Fertility Treatment
Starting Monday, couples in Ontario will be able to seek government-funded fertility services at 50 clinics across the Canadian province.
Income, Education Affect Metabolic Risk During Menopause
Several social and lifestyle factors appear to play a role in women’s risk for metabolic syndrome as they experience menopause, according to a Korean cohort study published online December 3 in Menopause.
Other Benefits of Birth Control Pills
You know that birth control pills can keep you from getting pregnant. But the pill can have other benefits, too. One survey found that more than half of women who take birth control pills do so for reasons other than avoiding pregnancy.
How It Feels: My Kids Don’t Have my DNA
My twin sons were conceived with the use of an anonymous egg donor because I was diagnosed as infertile. Meaning, my husband and I chose a woman who sorta looks like me, her eggs were retrieved and combined with my husband’s sperm, and the matured embryos were transferred into my uterus.
What Is the Germline?
This year’s annual conference of the Progress Educational Trust, titled ‘From Three-Person IVF to Genome Editing: the Science and the Ethics of Engineering the Embryo’, started with an invigorating talk from Professor Azim Surani, Director of Germline and Epigenomics Research at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge.
Little Desire for Women’s Sex Drug
The presumed vast numbers of women with low libido are not that hot for the first drug ever approved to heat up their desire.